EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: The Internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, Part 3
Check those sources carefully. Scholars learn to analyze and critique primary sources with the work they completed in the previous activity. Learners compare and contrast sources that agree and disagree about Japanese-American internment...
Curated OER
Jazz and Math: Rhythmic Innovations
Students compare and contrast the rhythms of marches and jazz. They watch an excerpt about Buddy Bolden from the PBS Ken Burns Jazz documentary, compare/contrast march and jazz rhythms, complete a worksheet, and notate and perform jazz...
Curated OER
New Frontiers
Learners compare/contrast the expeditions of Dr. Horatio Jackson and Lewis and Clark. They read and discuss journals from both trips, watch segments from the Ken Burns film about Lewis and Clark, conduct Internet research, and complete...
Curated OER
Sculpture of the Twentieth Century
Eighth graders examine various 20th century artists and their sculptures. They view and analyze slides, compare/contrast the artists' styles, and create an original sculpture.
Curated OER
A Comparison of Two Great Leaders: Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
Students explore these two leaders use of nonviolent protest techniques. They read about the life of King Jr. They view a slide show about the life of Gandhi. Compare/contrast the lives of these two men using a Venn diagram.
Curated OER
Beatrix Potter's Naughty Animal Tales
Learners gain insight into the unusual, solitary world of Beatrix Potter's Victorian childhood and can compare/contrast it with their own world to explain why Potter wrote such simple stories and why she wrote about animals rather than...
Curated OER
Fables
Third graders identify the characteristics of fables, and read and compare/contrast various Aesop's fables. Using handheld computers, they read two fables with a partner, complete a Venn Diagram, develop a traits diagram using PiCo Map,...
Curated OER
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Parenting and Discipline
Students discuss discipline in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and compare it to how children are disciplined today. In this comparisons lesson, students identify different ways parents discipline their children. Students identify...
Curated OER
Let's Learn About Firefighters!
Students explore, analyze and study about fire fighters and fire safety. They listen to a book, list what they already know about firefighters and fire safety rules and compare/contrast types of firefighters. Each student then writes a...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Gulliver's Travels
Students read and analyze the book, Gulliver's Travels. They develop a reading folder, identify the main story elements, compare/contrast Gulliver's adventures in Lilliput and Brobdingnag, and write a paragraph about the main characters.
Curated OER
Generational Music Communities
Young scholars focus on age-related generations to assess how traditional music is transmitted from one generation to another and how music functions for people within a generation. They compare/contrast and explore music in their own...
Curated OER
Jason and the Golden Fleece
Young scholars read and analyze the classic Greek tale of "Jason and the Golden Fleece." They compare/contrast the story with modern works of literature and films, answer discussion questions, and retell the story in a modern-day setting.
Curated OER
SHAKESPEARE IN TODAY'S WORLD
Students, after an introduction to Shakespeare's "Othello," compare/contrast the themes in the play to today's society. In addition, they write their own script for the play of "Othello" based on predictions of what they think will...
Curated OER
Comparing Christmas Around the World
Christmas inspired lesson and project ideas that help students sharpen critical thinking skills.
Curated OER
Genre: Short Story
Discover the genre of short stories with sixth graders. They discuss the characteristics of short stories from the book America Street. Then, they compare and contrast movies and television shows and chart story characteristics....
Core Knowledge Foundation
Marching into Civil War Times: Little Women, Past and Present
Here is a fine unit of lessons which compare and contrast the culture during the time period of the classic book, Little Women to present day. Topics covered are the family, politics, morality, fashion, transportation, cities, historical...
Curated OER
Heeding Advice
Compare and contrast various foreign perspectives on the George W. Bush administration's plans for military action. Middle schoolers read the article "Blair and Chirac Head to U.S. to Talks and a Show of Unity." Then, they analyze...
Curated OER
Born on a Mountaintop? Davy Crockett, Tall Tales, and History
Learners compare and contrast the details from the life of the real David Crockett and the legendary folk hero he later became. They identify the characteristics of a tall tale and follow a rubric to create a tall tale of their own.
Curated OER
A Togolese Tale: The Big Fire
Students identify common elements found in folk tales and read a Togolese folk tale told by Fred Koehler. They analyze the folk tale for its elements and compare and contrast it with well-known Western folk tales.
Curated OER
Twice Upon a Time: Multi-Cultural Cinderella
Engage your learners in a cross-cultural study by having them read, compare, and contrast various Cinderella stories from different cultures around the world. From this exercise, they will learn that plot element can seem...
Creative Competitions, Inc.
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Fantastic Fairy Tale
Learning about literature can be so much fun; it can also be made more accessible through projects and dramatic play. As they explore theme, character, and setting, the class gets creative and makes a dramatic recreation of a classic...
Curated OER
Helpful Animals and Compassionate Humans in Folklore
Students define elements of stories from around the world that include helpful animals. They explore animal character motivations and use graphic organizers to compare and contrast animal stories from different cultures.
Curated OER
Dogs vs. Cats: Pet Ownership Essay
Students analyze patterns of organization used in writing to determine how and when comparisons and contrasts can be effectively utilized to identify similarities and differences or pros and cons.
Curated OER
Performance Event
Students examine the media by writing a compare/contrast paragraph. In this mass communications lesson, students identify and discuss the main sources of information for Americans in today's age. Students analyze pictures of people...